O Loving Savior, life is like planting a garden so it will produce a harvest of plenty. If I plant good seeds of kindness, compassion and caring, I will be able to produce good fruit and will have made good use of my time. If I plant the bad seeds of poor decisions, inappropriate behavior and self-centeredness, I will reap a harvest that is worthless and I will have wasted my time. For my garden to thrive, I must keep it weeded and free from worldly enticements, the philosophies of men and corrupt ways. I must watch closely so that the “weeds” do not creep into my life and take it over. I need to fertilize my garden with daily prayer, meditation and reading of Your Word and practicing the things You’ve taught me. I must strive to keep the soil lose so that moisture and nutrients can permeate into the ground to nourish the plants in my garden which have been planted in You. By going to church, making time for You and doing good works, the garden will stay fresh and be able to absorb the things You’ve provided for them.
I realize that I will go through seasons in my life which are a part of maturing and growing up spiritually. In the spring, I prepare my heart for the implanting of seeds of faith. In the summer, I encourage my garden to grow through nourishment of Your word, the refreshing of the Holy Spirit and the light of Your love. In the fall, I reap the harvest of my good living because I’ve become a doer and not just a hearer of Your Word … I walk by faith and not by sight … I’ve advanced beyond the milk of Your Word to the meat of Your teachings … and I’ve learned to not lean on my own understanding but to count on Your wisdom and guidance. Because I have sown good seed, I know that I will reap good … and, because I worked diligently at the things You’ve instructed me to do, my harvest will be bountiful. In the winter, I must rest in order to sustain myself and be ready to endure the heat of trials during my summer.
Raising a garden is not easy. It requires effort, endurance, thoughtful planning and diligence. In raising a garden there are things I must do … prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water and fertilize the plants, remove the weeds and reap the harvest. And, there are things I should count on You to do … bring out the rain, cause the sun to shine and provide the soil from which my garden will grow. Together we will make the garden lush and productive. To keep my garden flourishing, I must give it care and attention. I must take care to not let the “weeds” of selfishness and worldliness crowd out the good plants. As it is fed with Your tender love, it will mature and prosper. I will act as an apprentice watching You as my faithful gardener … cultivating good behaviors, trimming away my bad behaviors and stimulating my growth through mercy and grace. If I put the garden of my life into Your hands, I know it will prosper and bring about a bounteous harvest. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Acts 14:7 Yet in bestowing His goodness, He did not leave Himself without a witness, for He gave you the rains from Heaven and fruitful seasons, and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your heart.